


Awake

by geekbaits



Series: Pretty Little Stutterbug [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/M, Identity Reveal, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 04:31:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9106702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geekbaits/pseuds/geekbaits
Summary: Prompt: Identity Reveal.





	

Marinette supposed everyone had an off day, though it was quite rare to see _Adrien_ tripping over his own two feet and falling into the fountain at the park. The young girl was on her way home from Alya’s and cut through the park, where she spotted Adrien in the midst of the photoshoot.

Her heart fluttered at the sight of her handsome classmate.

“Just a few more and we’re done for the day!” the photographer promised, his thick Italian accent recognizable from where Marinette stood, at the opposite end of the park. 

“Right...” came Adrien’s unenthusiastic reply, which prompted Marinette to take a closer look at the boy. 

Adrien could barely stand on his own two feet, wobbling back and forth as he moved to cross to the other side of the fountain. The boy yawned behind a hand and sleepily rubbed at his eyes. Marinette frowned.

Has Adrien been sleeping well lately? At the top of her head, she hadn’t seen any changes in his daily schedule and as far as _she_ knew (which was a lot, not that she was willing to admit it), Adrien hadn’t taken to any other time-consuming extracurriculars.

She yawned, feeling the exhaustion of last night’s Akuma attack weigh heavily on her.

Marinette was well acquainted with the feeling of fatigue ever since Hawkmoth had been working hard for the past three weeks, sending double the number of Akumas Marinette and Chat Noir were used too. In between Akumas and Marinette’s neverending mountain of homework, it’s a wonder that the superhero hadn’t fallen over by now.

By the time she had cleansed her fifth Akuma in three days, Marinette had made it a goal of hers to _scold_ Hawkmoth once he was caught--didn’t he understand the importance of education? Like, _seriously_ , some people have _lives_! Marinette huffed, blowing a stray strand of hair from her forehead. 

The warmth of the afternoon sun beat down on the girl, making her rather sleepy. Her eyelids drooped and she could feel her arms growing heavy.

On any other day, Marinette would have been more than happy to sit nearby and watch Adrien finish his photoshoot, but with Akuma appearances becoming more frequent, Marinette figured she’d take this opportunity to _nap_.

She hoped that Adrien would do the same. 

As Marinette turned to continue to commute home, the sound of splashing water followed by a loud gasp caught her attention. She whirled around, stopping abruptly once she registered what had happened.

“Signore Adrien!” 

“I’m fine! I’m fine!” Adrien sat in the fountain, limply hanging over the edge, “I’m just a little tired today, is all.” 

“I’ll say! How ‘bout we finish this another day? We can’t really do much now with you being so exhausted, huh?” the photographer reasoned, “Go home and rest, Adrien.”

“Right. Thanks.” 

Despite her own fatigue, Marinette simply couldn’t ignore Adrien, who still hadn’t moved from the water; he was absolutely drenched. Luckily for Marinette, she’d had a clean towel packed in her backpack as the young girl had picked up a bad habit of getting caught in the rain right before school started.

It seemed like some of her bad luck was finally turning around. 

She made her way towards Adrien, carrying her polka dotted towel. She greeted the photographer with a short wave before meeting Adrien at the fountain. He didn’t seem to notice the girl.

She hesitated, trying her best to ignore her stuttering heart. Marinette took a deep breath and spoke.

“Ah, um...Adrien?” Marinette asked, “I, uh, _towel you a brought_. Wait, I mean, _brought for you a towel!_ Wait, no! I mean, I _brought_ you a towel...since, um, you’re kinda just hanging there in a fountain and you’re _dripping with good looks_ \--I mean! You’re soaking wet! And you totally don’t have to take the towel in case you _liked_ hanging out in the fountain, but I just thought...”

Tikki had peeked out from Marinette’s little pink satchel, “Marinette, I don’t think he’s listening,” she whispered.

Marinette glanced down at Tikki before moving closer to Adrien.

“...Adrien?” she asked again. “You okay?”

He didn’t answer and Marinette couldn’t see his face, as he was still hanging off the ledge of the fountain, his head lowered. 

Marinette wasn’t sure what had come over her. One second she was standing three feet from her classmate/the love of her young adolescent life and the next, she was kneeling before him, gently shaking his shoulder, actually _touching_ him. Marinette noted it was possible this sudden surge of courage was a product of both her and Adrien’s exhaustion, but even on a normal day, she wouldn’t abandon the boy in a fountain, where he was getting soaked by the second.

“Hey, Adrien?” Marinette said, this time a little louder, “ _Adrien._ Y-You should probably come out of the fountain by now...you could get sick...”

No answer.

“Adrien?” Marinette crouched lower, leveling her head so that she could see his face. 

Her ears perked at the sound of soft snores.

“He’s asleep!” Tikki chirped, “Marinette, you should probably help him out before he catches a cold.”

“R...Right.” 

Marinette--as gently as she could--wrapped both arms around Adrien’s torso and lifted him from the fountain, sliding one arm down rest in the crook of his bent knees. 

Anyone who entered that park at that time would have witnessed a sleeping  _Adrien Agreste_ , famous teen model, held in a rather comical princess carry by a small girl, who didn’t seem to be bothered by the extra weight.

“You’re doing fantastic, Marinette!” Tikki encouraged, “Just get him to that tree over there!”

She flushed at their close contact and held him tightly, thanking her years of lifting sacks of flour for making this possible. Marinette set Adrien down, lying him against the back of a tree and noticed, with alarm, that somewhere in his sleep, Adrien had managed to lock his arms around her neck.

The model sleepily buried his nose in Marinette’s hair, nuzzling against her heated skin. She yelped and released the boy, trying to pull away, but finding all attempts futile. Adrien’s arms tightened around her neck, pulling Marinette down to lean against him under the tree.

 _Oh God, was he_ purring? 

Marinette was sure the color of her face rivaled that of a fire engine at this point.

“Buginette...” he sighed. “...you saved me from the fountain, Buginette. How can I ever thank you?” 

Marinette froze. She was certain her heart had stopped beating at the mere mention of _Chat Noir’s_ pet name for her.

Marinette.

Also known as _Ladybug_.

But who was currently Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, who was currently in the arms of one tired Adrien Agreste. 

Adrien _The Model_ Agreste who was _still purring_ in Marinette’s ear and calling her Buginette.

Buginette.

Which was _Chat Noir’s_ nickname for _Ladybug_.

Also known as _Marinette Dupain-Cheng_.

Had she been busted? Panicked eyes flew towards her kwami, who giggled behind two paws, her deep blue eyes twinkling mischievously.

“Tikki, does he know?” Marinette whispered, “ _Tikki.”_

The little kwami shrugged and zipped back into Marinette’s clutch, leaving her charge alone with Adrien.

 _Who was still purring_. 

Carefully, Marinette wiggled out of Adrien’s grasp, managing to set herself free after about five minutes of untangling their limbs. She leaned the boy back against the tree and turned to retrieve her towel. Behind her, Adrien continued to mutter in his sleep.

“Buginette, where’d ya go?” he said. “You can’t leave a cat alone, Buginette.”

Marinette whipped around again, her breath escaping her as soon as her eyes set on her sleeping classmate. Golden hair, disheveled from the struggle over the the tree, falling over his face in just the _right_ places. She crawled closer to Adrien, taking a closer look, the beating in her ribcage thudding faster and faster. 

 _There was no way_ , Marinette thought to herself. Without thinking, she brought a hand up to his face and gentle scratched beneath his chin, a habit she had developed while in the suit. 

He _purred_ louder, leaning towards her hand, something that Chat does without even realizing it. 

Her heart gave another jolt. 

They really were similar, Marinette thought to herself as she continued to scratch Adrien’s chin. It’s almost as if they were...

Marinette stopped.

...it’s almost as if they were the same person or something.

“ _Chaton_?” Marinette hadn’t realized she had whispered her partner’s name until he answered, loud and clear enough to inform Marinette that she wasn’t dealing with a sleeping kitten anymore. 

Adrien was wide awake and grinning at Marinette as if he knew something she didn’t. 

“You know, LB,” Adrien said, fully channeling Chat Noir, and stunning poor Marinette into another stupefied silence, “If you wanted our secret identities to be secret, then I wouldn’t really suggest going around pulling models from fountains and letting them call you Buginette.”

Marinette gaped at Adrien.

His lips curled in a wide grin, “After all, it’d be a _catastrophe_  if someone dis--!” 

Marinette recovered quickly, and with a practiced arm, chucked her towel at his face, effectively cutting off Adrien’s incoming pun. She rolled her eyes at the boy, who guffawed behind the towel.

“I can’t believe this...” she muttered, feeling her cheeks heat up under Adrien’s playful gaze. He laughed before reaching forward, pulling Marinette against him and nuzzling her cheeks, ignoring the girl’s half-hearted complaints that he was wetting her. 

Though Marinette didn’t want to say it out loud, knowing that Adrien was actually Chat Noir made her heart beat a little bit faster whenever he was around, regardless if he was in or out of costume.

But she wasn’t going to let her stubborn kitten know that.

At least, not at the moment.


End file.
